Themes are a very essential aspect of British Social Realism film making. Without having these believable themes such as violence, childhood and others, BSR films would find great difficulty in creating a realistic representation actual issues within their films. This post is where I have chosen five BSR films in which display the use of a different theme.
1. Domestic Abuse - Nil By Mouth
In this scene from the 1990's film "Nil By Mouth" we see a scene that starts off with a gradual amount of yelling that soon turns into domestic abuse. This theme is established by the woman's husband beating her with his hands and feet. I would say that this is portrayed extremely violently as although we see the actions he is doing, we do not see what she looks like during or after the abuse takes place. This only leaves the audience to imagine what is truly happening to her, thus creating an even worse scenario in our heads. If I were to use this theme in my own film then I would possibly portray it the same way. As this decision decreases the chances of someone actually getting hurt, it also allows the scene to be seen as quite serious, which is what anyone involving this theme would typically want for their scene.
2. Bullying - Kidulthood
The main theme represented in this clip is bullying. Here we see that this film has established this theme by having scenes of a group of girls and a boy physically and verbally abusing another student by calling her names and hitting her. There is a moment where the identity of her virginity is emphasised on in front of the entire class, which can only be taken as an act of humiliation. Bullying has been portrayed as quite a dangerous thing as at the end of this clip, the girl commits suicide. We see the build up of this moment occur from this girl being tormented and uncared for by her fellow pupils as well as her family. As this scene had required excellent camera work, acting and build up to represent the bullying theme as serious as it did, it may be quite hard for me to denote it the way that they did. However, as I am only planning on creating an opening sequence, I may include the use of vocabulary and possibly physical actions that the kids from the school had done. I would do this as this not only represents the scenario in a negative aspect but can be easily achieved.
3. Childhood - This Is England
In this scene, there a little boy being surrounded by elder men, denoting the theme of childhood. The theme is established by having the boy being casually located in an area with negative behaviour around. For example, there is the uses of drugs and even a fight to the death occurs, connoting how this boy is in an area that is definitely not recommended to be in, particularly at his age. The theme is portrayed as quite influential towards the kid as he is denoted laughing during a time where someone is in pain (the start). However, towards end of the scene the boy's innocent is in some form restored as he constantly yells and cries for the violence to end. This is quite a dramatic scene and highlights how children can be easily influenced by others but will always remain to have a form of purity within them. I could explore the theme of childhood within my own sequence as I could have a little boy within a crowd of people using unnecessary words and actions, just like in this clip.
4. Illnesses - Looking For Eric
In this clip we see the main character from the film deal with his illness, schizophrenia, a mental disease that causes people to think that they are talking to someone, but in reality are only communicating with themselves. Here we see how the film has established the topic of illnesses by bringing in a famous footballer whom Eric idolises and incorporating him into Eric's schizophrenic imaginations. Illnesses have been portrayed in this clip in particular as influential but also somewhat comedic. From the words actually being spoken it is clear that Eric is being influenced by them, but from the tone and how Eric reacts to the appearance of this footballer, a form of comedy arrives with it. I could incorporate the theme of illnesses by allowing a character of mine to use some medication, e.g. an asthma pump. By having this in my sequence, it denotes to the audience that the character is likely to be dealing with this situation.
5. Gun Crime - Adulthood
In this clip from 'Adulthood' we see the exploration of the theme of gun crime. The theme is established greatly throughout the entire scene as the man holds a gun to an adult couple as well as a few other men inside the house. It is clear that this film portrays the act of gun crime to be quite violent and dangerous. Evidently, the use of guns has gotten these people into all sorts of trouble, as well as the gun being a symbol of authority. This authority is represented as whenever one man holds a gun against somebody else, the holder ends up having more control over the situation. This is apparent when there are only two people left in the room and the man in the hoodie puts the gun extremely close to the other's mouth. If I were to put this theme into my own sequence then I could possibly have some trouble with doing so. However, although it may be hard to obtain an actual gun, the mentioning of it could be quite attainable, in which can help me to portray a violent film.
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